Alienation, inaction, and engagement in political decision-making: Passive war opponents actively avoid news of the war and are motivated to derogate protestors

A great deal of research in social psychology has investigated the predictors of collective action or political protest, yet in reality only a tiny fraction of individuals ever attend rallies or meetings, or volunteer for particular causes. Very little research has examined the predictors of political alienation in their own right, despite findings that across Western democracies' participation in public politics is dropping and cynicism and alienation are increasingly prevalent (e.g., Putnam, 2000). In the present data, supportive national and political identities and norms were found to promote engagement and activism. Distress about the Iraq war was associated with higher intentions to engage in peace activism, and for politically active opponents of the war, war distress was associated with positive affect towards protestors. In contrast, politically alienated participants (who passively opposed the Iraq war) were more likely to intend to avoid news of the war actively, and for this group the perceived inefficacy of protest was associated with hostility towards peace activists. The study documents for the first time a form of active emotional displacement, in which the perception that political activism is futile increases alienated participants' avoidance behaviour and motivates anger at those who are playing an active role agitating for social change. The implications of this cycle of cynicism and withdrawal are discussed